Devotions

Rev Gav

Splendour

Haggai 2.1-9

In the second year of King Darius,in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying:

Speak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, and say, Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not in your sight as nothing?

Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord; work, for I am with you, says the Lord of hosts, according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt.

My spirit abides among you; do not fear. For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendour, says the Lord of hosts.

The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts. The latter splendour of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the Lord of hosts.

Reflect

The rebuilt ‘second’ temple was not as glorious as the first, but the prophet Haggai anticipated a future where it would be even more glorious than ever before.

There is both a Jewish and Christian tradition that these verses speak of the glory of the coming Messiah, and Christians think to when Jesus himself was presented, as a child, in the temple. Here is a reminder of what Simeon said (found in Luke 2.29-31):

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

God’s glory, aka Jesus, literally was seen and revealed in the temple.

What struck me was that the people were faithful in rebuilding the temple, and despite being less beautiful as it had been previously, God reassured them that this was okay. They had played their part and their obedience would be rewarded.

Because they had refocused their lives around the presence of God, God could now work in and through them. Haggai used the metaphor of a tree (nations) being shaken and the fruits (treasures) falling to the ground.

In the same way, we are called to centre our lives around Christ, and as we contribute to building God’s house — the Church — we may think we are not particularly ‘elegant’ or ‘glorious’ but we have played our part. By opening ourselves to the Holy Spirit to fill us, God is now able to work in and through us, and do way more than we can possibly imagine. God says to us too, “Take courage, all you people of the land… for I am with you.”

Pray

Holy God
As I recenter
my life around you,
I open myself
to you working
in and through me.
I will take courage
that you are with me
and that your purposes
for the world
will be fulfilled
and your glory
will be revealed
through Jesus Christ
my Sovereign and Saviour.